These outdoor gems are little-known retreatsAs the lyrics say: It's fun to stay at the YMCA. No, really. Far from the urban recreation centers or all-male dormitories that many Americans think of, a handful of year-round historic YMCA resorts that once catered to summering families and religious retreats have become today's little-known outdoor gems.

LATITUDES AND ATTITUDE ALISON DAROSALindbergh Field expansion in first stagesBig changes are planned at Lindbergh Field: 10 gates added at Terminal 2; a second-level roadway at the terminal, allowing for separate arrival and departure locations; a new short-term parking structure at Terminal 2; plus construction of a new airfield apron, providing more overnight parking for jetliners.

Pompeii slowly, steadily rising from ashesWalking through the ruins of Pompeii, one has to wonder: What is more amazing? Is it the fact that a thriving city was virtually wiped off the face of the Earth when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 year ago? Or that the city lost for centuries under volcanic ash has been excavated and restored to its present state?

PICTURE OF THE WEEK IMAGES FROM AFARShore partyRichard Haas of Del Mar encountered a welcoming committee of marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs and a sea lion when he visited Fernandina Island in the Galapagos last November. Fernandina is the westernmost and third largest of the Galapagos.

IN TRANSIT GETTING YOU FROM HERE TO THEREChristmas in SolvangThe annual Solvang Nativity Pageant is set for Dec. 8. Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. will narrate as locals present the story of Christmas. Performances are at 5 and 7 p.m. in the Solvang Festival Theater.